I Paid a contractor $$$, no work has been done.........

[liljenrix]

I live in Mississippi, and on Oct 29 2004 I paid a contractor $9000 to complete the work on our home, a total of $48000 was paid. He has not completed the job and refuses to answer our calls or return to do the work. We had to take out a loan to make our home livable, since we had no where else to live, the house was so messed up by the contactor that it was so expensive to fixe it cost us an additional $6000 for us to do the job ourself. Please help, we dont have any money and I do know the contactor owns a home in the area, but I do not know how to go about getting our money back. Please help, thanks

 

[divgradcurl]

Contact a lawyer in your area and sue the contractor for breach of contract.

 

[Michigan Lady]

Another Hint!

You can also contract the "Registrar of Contractors" in your state, assuming, mind you, that he was licensed. File a complaint with them, in addition, you can check out his license (kinda too late now, but none the less). They will come out to your home, check out the damages, and file a report as to your complaint. Depending on your state, they set up a hearing, and bring him in. (Take lots of pictures, have witnesses, take the time to write down all your grievences, name dates, times, and have supporting evidence). It takes a little time doing it this way, but if you prevail, (unfortunately, they can't get your money back for you), you can then sue him in small claims court for the amount. Additionally, they put a black mark on his record, and believe me, he'll be paying in more ways than one forever.......

 

[liljenrix]

hi there, thats just it we have borrowed all the money we could to make the house livable for our family, so we have no money to hire a lawyer. ( we moved in 2 days before christmas) On the last check we gave the contactor for $9000 the memo line said "to complete work on the house" which he signed and cashed on oct 29th, he will not answer when we call or return our messages. He was the general contractor for the entire house,( it was gutted by me,) and he was to remodel the inside to "lock and key status" we paid him a total of $48000 up until the $9000 check all seemed fine. After that nothing has been done, the electrical rough out needed to be finished, holes in the new sheet rock, half painted rooms, no flooring what so ever. Me and my husband spent $6500 putting the floors down, repainting, putting doors in, and so forth. My cousin happen to be an electrician, and fixed the electrical. ( not one outlet or fixture worked) That would have cost us $2700 but my cousin did it as a favor. To top it all off the AC guy wants us to pay him for the work he has done ($4500) Which is in the scope of our contractors job. I did not call the ac guy the contractor subbed out those types of jobs and he called the AC man and signed his contract with him. Thanks for letting me vent I am just so upset about this, any suggestions will be appreciated, Jen

 

[liljenrix]

thanks guys, I had posted the last remark before michigan lady's post was read. I took tons of pictures and video taped the work being done. Thank you, I did not know about the Registrar of Contractors, I will be contacting them.

 

[divgradcurl]

thanks guys, I had posted the last remark before michigan lady's post was read. I took tons of pictures and video taped the work being done. Thank you, I did not know about the Registrar of Contractors, I will be contacting them.

That may make you feel better, but it won't get you your money back.

And if you decide to forego a lawyer and sue in small claims court, the most you will be able to recover is $5,000. Since it appears that you paid $48,000 for work done to date (which would apparently pay for the work actually completed), you should be able to recover the $9,000 you paid him after he stopped working, the $6,500 you guys paid to finish the job, and the $4,500 you'll need to pay the AC guy, or about $20,000. If your cousin were to sue you for the work he did (or otherwise demand payment), you could probably recover that $2,700 as well. If the $48,000 was for not only the work actually completed, but also to cover work that had yet to be completed, you should be able to recover that portion of the $48,000 that was meant for work not yet completed.

The point being that even if you had to pay a lawyer 40% or your recovery of $20,000, you would still end up with $12,000, which is more than the $5,000 you would get in small claims court, and more than the $0 you will get from filing with the Contractor's Board. You could also try and file a case in superior court on your own -- you can go to your local library and see what books on filing your own suit are available.

But without going to court, you are unlikely to see any of your money back.

To top it all off the AC guy wants us to pay him for the work he has done ($4500) Which is in the scope of our contractors job. I did not call the ac guy the contractor subbed out those types of jobs and he called the AC man and signed his contract with him.

The problem here is that the AC guy apparently DID do the work, and you benefitted from it -- so he has the right to go after you for payment. If you don't pay him, he will be able to sue you, and (if he has a license) put a lien on your property. Of course, if you pay him, you have the right to go after the contractor for reimbursement -- but the AC contractor will not be left holding the bag for the contractor's default, especially when you are enjoying the benefit of his labor.

Why don't you at least contact a couple of lawyers in your area and see if they can take the case on contingency? You might be able to get someone to work with you. Otherwise, take a look at filing a case yourself. You'll need to sue the guy to see any of your money again.

And pay the AC guy -- you don't want a judgment or a lien on your credit report if you can help it.